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| The Century 16 cinema where the shooting occurred. Photo: David Levy |
The man who opened fire in a Colorado cinema in July 2012 was yesterday sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. James Holmes, who killed 12 people during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises in the city of Aurora, was spared the death penalty after the jury heard concerns about his mental health.
Holmes, 27, had previously offered a plea bargain in which he would plead guilty if the death sentence was removed as an option, but the prosecution refused to accept this. His defence attorney noted that he suffers from schizophrenia and said he had experienced psychotic delusions that drove him to undertake the attack.
As well as the 12 killed, 70 people were injured in the attack. It appears that Holmes intended to kill the full audience of 400 but failed to do so after one of his several weapons jammed.
Holmes did not react to the verdict and appeared to be emotionally distant throughout the trial, but this may have been caused by anti-psychotic drugs he had been given. It emerged that he had sought help for his mental health problems at the University of Colorado, where he had studied neuroscience, shortly before the shooting took place. Since his imprisonment he has attempted suicide on several occasions.
